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Lens review

Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 28 mm f/2.0 ZF/ZK/ZE

22 May 2009
Arkadiusz Olech

3. Build quality

All the same delights that we expressed about the 1.4/50 ZF Zeiss Planar T* could be extended to this lens. The Distagon 2/28 is very sturdy and thanks to its greater weight it looks even sturdier than the previous version. Everything is metal here: its bayonet, body, manual focus ring, diaphragm adjustment ring, non-rotating 58mm filter barrel, as well as the included metal lens hood. There is nothing to complain here about Distagon. While other companies try to push some products of questionable quality, the Distagon could be an example for the others to follow.
Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 28 mm f/2.0 ZF/ZK/ZE - Build quality

Because of the full frame qualities, good aperture and wide view corner, the Distagon lens is neither small nor light. You can compare the Distagon with a similar size lens: the Distagon 2/35 and Nikkor 1.8/50. The comparison with similar lenses – as far as parameters are concerned – is presented in the following table.

Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 28 mm f/2.0 ZF/ZK/ZE - Build quality

The lens contains 10 lenses set up in 8 groups. The designers do not mention any special glass or other aspherical elements used in the lens. On the one hand this seems interesting, since in modern wide angle of view lenses with good aperture it is almost obligatory to use low dispersion glass elements or to give lenses an aspherical shape. The Zeiss, in its quite expensive lens, does not do this. In the next chapters we will see if it is enough to have a well designed and sturdily made lens in order to avoid optical defects without sophisticated glass varieties and glass shapes.

Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 28 mm f/2.0 ZF/ZK/ZE - Build quality



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As we mentioned before, the buyer will receive the lens hood as well as both original lids. Also in the box we find the handwritten quality certificate signed by the Japanese optician who personally verified the optical quality of each lens, as well as the diaphragm performance, the cleanness of optics and body, and completeness of each package.

The ZF version reserved for Nikon doesn’t have any contacts and as a result, doesn’t convey any information about the focal length and diaphragm value to the lens body. The Pentax DSLR owner are luckier since the ZK version has this kind of contacts.